Lancaster gets car charging station

LANCASTER -- The town's first public electric car charging station went live Wednesday in the lower level parking area in front of Town Hall.

The Department of Energy Resources paid for the equipment and the first $1,000 of the installation cost for the charging station. National Grid installed and monitors power usage from the charging station.

Lancaster already has four electric-car charging stations at Ron Bouchard Auto Sales, but this is the first one owned by the town.

The town is recognized as a Designated Green Community by the state, and Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco said there are future plans to buy an electric car that will be shared by the building and assessing departments that can use the station.

Residents and visitors will also be able to plug in electric cars or hybrids and there will be no cost to use the electricity. Pacheco said it would be expensive to purchase and install additional equipment for that purpose and doesn't expect to many people to use it.

The ChargePoint brand charging station features a nozzle with a handle similar to a gas pump that connects to the vehicle.

Anne Smith, publicist for ChargePoint America, said there are three ways to start a charging session. Users can get a ChargePoint card and wave it in front of the station, they can wave a contactless credit card in front of it or call the 1-800 number printed on the charging station. The handle is locked in place until the session begins.

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She drives a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle, and it takes about five hours to fully charge from empty, but most drivers don't let their vehicles get that low.

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